Misplaced Pages

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64-707: There has been a Deputy Minister on several occasions. Since 1967, the Ministry of Housing (as it was known then) assumed a political importance in the context of Israel's relations with the Palestinians, since this ministry is responsible for construction projects at controversial Israeli settlements on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem . The political identity of the minister currently in charge, and ministerial decisions on such construction, could impact

128-593: A casus belli , Egypt re-imposed the blockade against Israel and subsequently lost the Sinai Peninsula in the 1967 Arab–Israeli War . Like before, Israel's occupation allowed it to re-open the Straits of Tiran, but, once again, the Suez Canal was closed until 1975 . For the next three years, Egypt, seeking to regain the territory it had lost, launched the unsuccessful War of Attrition against Israel. Later,

192-481: A local council status with populations of 2,000–20,0000, such as Alfei Menashe , Eli , Elkana , Efrat and Kiryat Arba . There are also clusters of villages governed by a local elected committee and regional councils that are responsible for municipal services. Examples are Kfar Adumim , Neve Daniel , Kfar Tapuach and Ateret . Kibbutzim and moshavim in the territories include Argaman , Gilgal , Na'aran and Yitav . Jewish neighborhoods have been built on

256-870: A large-scale Egyptian military offensive against Israel, known as Operation Badr , triggered the 1973 Arab–Israeli War , which ended with the Egypt holding most of the east bank of the Suez. By 1979, the United States had successfully negotiated the Egypt–Israel peace treaty : the Egyptians recognized Israel as a sovereign state , recognized the Straits of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba as international waterways, and agreed to demilitarize along Israel's border. In exchange, Israel agreed to withdraw all civilians and soldiers from

320-459: A result of " enclave law ", large portions of Israeli civil law are applied to Israeli settlements and Israeli residents in the occupied territories. On 31 August 2014, Israel announced it was appropriating 400 hectares of land in the West Bank to eventually house 1,000 Israel families. The appropriation was described as the largest in more than 30 years. According to reports on Israel Radio,

384-768: Is "pipelined" into the settlements , such that Israeli citizens living there are treated similarly to those living in Israel. Many consider it to be a major obstacle to the Israeli–Palestinian peace process . In Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (2004), the ICJ found that Israel's settlements and the then-nascent Israeli West Bank barrier were both in violation of international law; part of

448-576: Is a part of Egypt , has been militarily occupied by Israel twice since the beginning of the Arab–Israeli conflict : the first occupation lasted from October 1956 to March 1957, and the second occupation lasted from June 1967 to April 1982. Israel initially seized the Sinai Peninsula during the Suez Crisis , when it attacked Egypt in response to the Egyptian blockade against all Israeli shipping ;

512-603: Is also hosting at least 196 Israeli outposts , which are settlements that have not been authorized by the Israeli government. In total, over 450,000 Israeli settlers reside in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, with an additional 220,000 Israeli settlers residing in East Jerusalem. Additionally, over 25,000 Israeli settlers live in Syria's Golan Heights. Between 1967 and 1982, there were 18 settlements established in

576-411: Is three times the Israeli national average. Most of the spending goes to the security of the Israeli citizens living there. As of January 2023, there are 144 Israeli settlements in the West Bank , including 12 in East Jerusalem . In addition, there are at least 196 Israeli illegal outposts (not sanctioned by the Israeli government) in the West Bank. In total, over 500,000 Israeli settlers live in

640-754: The Israeli-occupied Sinai Peninsula of Egypt , though these were dismantled by Israel after the Egypt–Israel peace treaty of 1979. Additionally, as part of the Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Israel dismantled all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the West Bank. Per the Fourth Geneva Convention , the transfer by an occupying power of its civilian population into

704-635: The Jerusalem District . Pre-1967 residents of East Jerusalem and their descendants have residency status in the city but many have refused Israeli citizenship. Thus, the Israeli government maintains an administrative distinction between Israeli citizens and non-citizens in East Jerusalem, but the Jerusalem municipality does not. Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula , which

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768-725: The Labor government of Levi Eshkol . The basis for Israeli settlement in the West Bank became the Allon Plan , named after its inventor Yigal Allon . It implied Israeli annexation of major parts of the Israeli-occupied territories , especially East Jerusalem , Gush Etzion and the Jordan Valley . The settlement policy of the government of Yitzhak Rabin was also derived from the Allon Plan. The first settlement

832-582: The Six-Day War in 1967. The international community considers Israeli settlements to be illegal under international law , but Israel disputes this. In 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel's occupation was illegal and ruled that Israel had "an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities and to evacuate all settlers" from the occupied territories. The expansion of settlements often involves

896-957: The West Bank (including East Jerusalem ), which is claimed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sovereign territory of the State of Palestine , and in the Golan Heights , which is internationally recognized as a part of the sovereign territory of Syria . Through the Jerusalem Law and the Golan Heights Law , Israel effectively annexed both territories, though the international community has rejected any change to their status as occupied territory . Although Israel's West Bank settlements have been built on territory administered under military rule rather than civil law, Israeli civil law

960-598: The first Trump administration reversed this long-standing policy in November 2019, declaring that "the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se inconsistent with international law"; this new policy, in turn, was reversed to the original by the Biden administration in February 2024, once again classifying Israeli settlement expansion as "inconsistent with international law" and matching

1024-448: The 1990s, the annual settler population growth was more than three times the annual population growth in Israel. Population growth has continued in the 2000s. According to the BBC, the settlements in the West Bank have been growing at a rate of 5–6% since 2001. In 2016, there were sixty thousand American Israelis living in settlements in the West Bank. The establishment of settlements in

1088-472: The 60% of the West Bank that was not under Palestinian administrative control and the population growth of settlers did not diminish. In 2005, all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank were forcibly evacuated as part of Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip , known to some in Israel as "the Expulsion". Nevertheless, the total settler population continued to rise. After

1152-534: The Civil Administration over the years covertly allotted 10% of the West Bank for further settlement. Provisional names for future new settlements or settlement expansions were already assigned. The plan includes many Palestinian built-up sites in the Areas A and B . Land in the Gaza Strip available to its Palestinian inhabitants has historically been limited as a result of Israeli land confiscation and

1216-604: The Development of Settlements in Judea and Samaria, 1979–1983", was written by the Jewish Agency director and former Knesset member Matityahu Drobles . In January 1981, the government adopted a follow-up plan from Drobles, dated September 1980 and named "The current state of the settlements in Judea and Samaria", with more details about settlement strategy and policy. Since 1967, government-funded settlement projects in

1280-523: The Egyptians had been contesting Israel's freedom of navigation through the Straits of Tiran and the Suez Canal since 1949, impacting the country's ability to import and export goods during the Israeli austerity period . Although the occupation allowed Israel to re-open the Straits of Tiran, the Suez Canal was closed until 1957 , when Israeli troops withdrew from Egypt. In the mid-1960s, amidst warnings from Israeli officials that another blockade would be

1344-571: The Gaza Strip and the West Bank" . It wanted to keep settlements beyond the Green Line including Ma'ale Adumim and Givat Ze'ev in East Jerusalem. Blocs of settlements should be established in the West Bank. Rabin promised not to return to the 4 June 1967 lines. In June 1997, the Likud government of Benjamin Netanyahu presented its "Allon Plus Plan". This plan holds the retention of some 60% of

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1408-670: The Gazan economy via land confiscation, the disproportionate consumption of local resources such as water, by overwhelmingly denying work opportunities and through the large disparities in funding (both private and governmental) for economic development. Some settlements are self-contained cities with a stable population in the tens of thousands, infrastructure, and all other features of permanence. Examples are Beitar Illit (a city of close to 45,000 residents), Ma'ale Adumim , Modi'in Illit , and Ariel (almost 20,000 residents). Some are towns with

1472-747: The Golan Heights had risen to 25,261. In 2020, the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem had reportedly risen to 451,700 individuals, with an additional 220,000 Jews living in East Jerusalem. Based on various sources, population dispersal can be estimated as follows: -4,400 In addition to internal migration, in large though declining numbers, the settlements absorb annually about 1000 new immigrants from outside Israel. The American Kulanu organization works with such right-wing Israeli settler groups as Amishav and Shavei Israel to settle "lost" Jews of color in such areas where local Palestinians are being displaced. In

1536-566: The Israeli Interior Ministry gave figures of 389,250 Israeli citizens living in the West Bank outside East Jerusalem. By the end of 2016, the West Bank Jewish population had risen to 420,899, excluding East Jerusalem, where there were more than 200,000 Jews. In 2019, the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem had risen to 441,600 individuals, and the number of Israeli settlers in

1600-522: The Israeli government for the establishment of settlements. By 1991, the settler population in Gaza would reach 3,500 and 4,000 by 1993, or less than 1% of Gaza's population. The land available for use by the Jewish settler community exceeded 25% of the total land in Gaza. The ratio of dunams to people was 23 for Jewish settlers, and 0.27 for Palestinians. Comparing the available built-up area available to each of

1664-422: The Israeli policy of establishing " facts on the ground ". Political economist Sara Roy described this as a policy intended to make the establishment of an independent Palestinian state more difficult. The locations and size of these new settlements would contribute to geographically isolating Palestinian communities from each other. In the seven years between 1978 and 1985, 11,500 acres of land were confiscated by

1728-757: The Israeli settlements cover only 1 percent of the West Bank, but their jurisdiction and their regional councils extend to about 42 percent of the West Bank, according to the Israeli NGO B'Tselem . Yesha Council chairman Dani Dayan disputes the figures and claims that the settlements only control 9.2 percent of the West Bank. Between 2001 and 2007 more than 10,000 Israeli settlement units were built, while 91 permits were issued for Palestinian construction, and 1,663 Palestinian structures were demolished in Area C. West Bank Palestinians have their cases tried in Israel's military courts while Jewish Israeli settlers living in

1792-576: The Ma'ale Adumim settlement, killing one and wounding five, and drew criticism from the US due to increasing tensions. During the Israel-Hamas war, the lines between settlers and the military were described as having become "indistinguishable". East Jerusalem is defined in the Jerusalem Law of 1980 as part of Israel and its capital, Jerusalem . As such it is administered as part of the city and its district,

1856-881: The PLO, and by a number of third parties, such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation , the United Nations (UN), Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and the European Union . The UN has repeatedly upheld the view that Israel's construction of settlements in the occupied territories constitutes a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. For decades, the United States also designated Israeli settlements as illegal, but

1920-477: The Palestinian territories is linked to the displacement of the Palestinian populations as evidenced by a 1979 Security Council Commission which established a link between Israeli settlements and the displacement of the local population. The commission also found that those who remained were under consistent pressure to leave to make room for further settlers who were being encouraged into the area. In conclusion

1984-454: The Sinai Peninsula and return it to Egypt. On 25 April 1982, Israel's withdrawal concluded and Egypt has since left the Sinai Peninsula demilitarized, marking the first instance of peace between Israel and an Arab country . Between 1967 and 1982, a total of 18 Israeli settlements were constructed throughout the Sinai Peninsula, primarily along the Gulf of Aqaba and in the areas to the south of

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2048-528: The Sinai Peninsula, while Syria launched a simultaneous operation to retake the Golan Heights, thereby beginning the Yom Kippur War (known in Egypt and much of Europe as the October War ). The canal was reopened in 1975, with President Sadat leading the first convoy through the canal aboard an Egyptian destroyer. In 1979, Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in which Israel agreed to withdraw from

2112-512: The Suez Canal Zone, ranging from limited to large scale combat. Israeli shelling of the cities of Port Said , Ismailia , and Suez on the west bank of the canal, led to high civilian casualties (including the virtual destruction of Suez), and contributed to the flight of 700,000 Egyptian internal refugees. Ultimately, the war concluded in 1970 with no change in the front line. On 6 October 1973, Egypt commenced Operation Badr to retake

2176-575: The West Bank are implemented by the "Settlement Division" of the World Zionist Organization . Though formally a non-governmental organization , it is funded by the Israeli government and leases lands from the Civil Administration to settle in the West Bank. It is authorized to create settlements in the West Bank on lands licensed to it by the Civil Administration. Traditionally, the Settlement Division has been under

2240-501: The West Bank excluding East Jerusalem, with an additional 220,000 Jewish settlers residing in East Jerusalem. Additionally, over 20,000 Israeli citizens live in settlements in the Golan Heights. Following the 1967 Six-Day War , Israel occupied a number of territories. It took over the remainder of the Palestinian Mandate territories of the West Bank including East Jerusalem , from Jordan which had controlled

2304-534: The West Bank is required. Authority for planning and construction is held by the Israel Defense Forces Civil Administration . The area consists of four cities , thirteen local councils and six regional councils . The Yesha Council ( Hebrew : מועצת יש"ע , Moatzat Yesha , a Hebrew acronym for Judea , Samaria and Gaza ) is the umbrella organization of municipal councils in the West Bank. The actual buildings of

2368-430: The West Bank, 198,629 were living in East Jerusalem, and almost 20,000 lived in settlements in the Golan Heights. By 2011, the number of Jewish settlers in the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem had increased to 328,423 people. In June 2014, the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank excluding East Jerusalem had increased to 382,031 people, with over 20,000 Israeli settlers in the Golan Heights. In January 2015,

2432-817: The West Bank, including the "Greater Jerusalem" area with the settlements Gush Etzion and Ma'aleh Adumim, other large concentrations of settlements in the West Bank, the entire Jordan Valley, a "security area", and a network of Israeli-only bypass roads. In the Road map for peace of 2002, which was never implemented, the establishment of a Palestinian state was acknowledged. Outposts would be dismantled. However, many new outposts appeared instead, few were removed. Israel's settlement policy remained unchanged. Settlements in East Jerusalem and remaining West Bank were expanded. While according to official Israeli policy no new settlements were built, at least some hundred unauthorized outposts were established since 2002 with state funding in

2496-523: The area. Israel, believing war to be imminent, ultimately launched a preemptive strike against Egypt, beginning the Six-Day War. Within three days, Israel had occupied most of the Sinai Peninsula. Following the Israeli capture and occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt launched the War of Attrition (1967–1970) aimed at forcing Israel to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula. The war saw protracted conflict in

2560-492: The commission stated that settlement in the Palestinian territories was causing "profound and irreversible changes of a geographic and demographic nature". The Israeli settlements in the West Bank fall under the administrative district of Judea and Samaria Area . Since December 2007, approval by both the Israeli Prime Minister and Israeli Defense Minister of all settlement activities (including planning) in

2624-515: The confiscation of Palestinian land and resources, leading to displacement of Palestinian communities and creating a source of tension and conflict. Settlements are often protected by the Israeli military and are frequently flashpoints for violence against Palestinians. Furthermore, the presence of settlements and Jewish-only bypass roads creates a fragmented Palestinian territory , seriously hindering economic development and freedom of movement for Palestinians . Currently, Israeli settlements exist in

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2688-522: The development is a response to the 2014 kidnapping and murder of Israeli teenagers . In March 2024 and during the Israel-Hamas war , it was announced that Israel was planning on building more than 3,300 new homes in the Kedar and Ma'ale Adumim settlement in the West Bank. The settlement expansion was announced by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich after three Palestinians opened fire near

2752-534: The direct control of (his own) PMO, and to curtail Defense Minister Ehud Barak's authority. At the presentation of the Oslo II Accord on 5 October 1995 in the Knesset, PM Yitzhak Rabin expounded the Israeli settlement policy in connection with the permanent solution to the conflict. Israel wanted "a Palestinian entity, less than a state, which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in

2816-490: The entirety of the Sinai Peninsula. Israel subsequently withdrew in several stages, ending on 26 April 1982. Israeli settlements in the Sinai Peninsula were split into two regions: one along the Mediterranean coast, and another along the Gulf of Aqaba . Israel had plans to expand the settlement of Yamit into a city of up to 200,000 residents. The actual population of Yamit never exceeded 3,000. The settlements in

2880-486: The establishment of settlements. Settlement growth in the Gaza Strip before 1977 was limited, as the Israeli labor party's policy of containment preferred the establishment of a collection of settlements along the border of the Strip. At this point, 6 settlements in the Strip existed, Kfar Darom, Netzarim, Morag, Eretz, Katif, and Netzer Hazani. With the Likud party's revisionist Zionist policies entering with Begin's government,

2944-653: The failure of the Roadmap, several new plans emerged to settle in major parts of the West Bank. In 2011, Haaretz revealed the Civil Administration's "Blue Line" -plan, written in January 2011, which aims to increase Israeli "state-ownership" of West Bank land ("state lands") and settlement in strategic areas like the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea area. In March 2012, it was revealed that

3008-459: The formerly Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip . Additionally, Israel dismantled two bases of the Israeli Air Force , one base of the Israeli Navy , and a number of other government/military installations, including most Israeli-controlled oil resources. Israeli forces first seized the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula during the Suez Crisis of October–November 1956. Under heavy international pressure, Israeli forces withdrew in March 1957, after heavily mapping

3072-401: The latter has been constructed within the West Bank, as opposed to being entirely on Israel's side of the Green Line . As of January 2023, there are 144 Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including 12 in East Jerusalem ; the Israeli government administers the West Bank as the Judea and Samaria Area , which does not include East Jerusalem. In addition to the settlements, the West Bank

3136-478: The official positions of the other three members of the Middle East Quartet . Certain observers and Palestinians occasionally use the term "Israeli colonies" as a substitute for the term "settlements". Settlements range in character from farming communities and frontier villages to urban suburbs and neighborhoods. The four largest settlements, Modi'in Illit , Ma'ale Adumim , Beitar Illit and Ariel , have achieved city status. Ariel has 18,000 residents, while

3200-399: The outskirts of Arab neighborhoods, for example in Hebron . In Jerusalem, there are urban neighborhoods where Jews and Arabs live together: the Muslim Quarter , Silwan , Abu Tor , Sheikh Jarrah and Shimon HaTzadik . Under the Oslo Accords , the West Bank was divided into three separate parts designated as Area A, Area B and Area C . Leaving aside the position of East Jerusalem, all of

3264-405: The overall government policy. Israeli settlement Israeli settlements , also called Israeli colonies , are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories . They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Jewish identity or ethnicity , and have been constructed on lands that Israel has militarily occupied since

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3328-553: The project as being strictly for military use while in reality, Kiryat Arba was planned for settler use. The method of confiscating land by military order for establishing civilian settlements was an open secret in Israel throughout the 1970s, but publication of the information was suppressed by the military censor . In the 1970s, Israel's methods for seizing Palestinian land to establish settlements included requisitioning for ostensibly military purposes and spraying of land with poison. The Likud government of Menahem Begin, from 1977,

3392-410: The responsibility of the Agriculture Ministry. Since the Oslo Accords, it was always housed within the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). In 2007, it was moved back to the Agriculture Ministry. In 2009, the Netanyahu Government decided to subject all settlement activities to additional approval of the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister. In 2011, Netanyahu sought to move the Settlement Division again under

3456-452: The rest have around 37,000 to 55,500 each. Settlement has an economic dimension, much of it driven by the significantly lower costs of housing for Israeli citizens living in Israeli settlements compared to the cost of housing and living in Israel proper. Government spending per citizen in the settlements is double that spent per Israeli citizen in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem , while government spending for settlers in isolated Israeli settlements

3520-412: The same occupied territory are tried in civil courts. The arrangement has been described as "de facto segregation" by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. A bill to formally extend Israeli law to the Israeli settlements in the West Bank was rejected in 2012. The basic military laws governing the West Bank are influenced by what is called the "pipelining" of Israeli legislation. As

3584-459: The same year (1977) that there was a plan to settle 2 million Jews in the West Bank by 2000. The government abrogated the prohibition from purchasing occupied land by Israelis; the "Drobles Plan", a plan for large-scale settlement in the West Bank meant to prevent a Palestinian state under the pretext of security became the framework for its policy. The "Drobles Plan" from the World Zionist Organization , dated October 1978 and named "Master Plan for

3648-405: The scale of settlement expansion increased, although the basic policies relating to the settlements did not change. By 1978, 13 settlements had been built as part of a buffer zone along Gaza's southern border in Rafah. The discussions at Camp David that year surrounding the idea of potential future Palestinian autonomy would trigger an increase in settlement expansion in the Gaza Strip, following

3712-447: The settlements are in Area C which comprises about 60% of the West Bank. Some settlements were established on sites where Jewish communities had existed during the British Mandate of Palestine or even since the First Aliyah or ancient times. At the end of 2010, 534,224 Jewish Israelis lived in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. 314,132 of them lived in the 121 authorised settlements and 102 unauthorised settlement outposts on

3776-402: The territories since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, and the Gaza Strip from Egypt , which had held Gaza under occupation since 1949 . From Egypt, it also captured the Sinai Peninsula and from Syria it captured most of the Golan Heights , which since 1981 has been administered under the Golan Heights Law . As early as September 1967, Israeli settlement policy was progressively encouraged by

3840-400: The territory and placing secret supply caches in preparation for the next war. As part of the conditions for the Israeli withdrawal, the Sinai Peninsula was demilitarized and the UNEF peacekeeping force was established there to police the border between Israel and Egypt. In May 1967, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser ordered the withdrawal of this force and moved Egypt's own troops into

3904-430: The territory it is occupying constitutes a war crime , although Israel disputes that this statute applies to the West Bank. On 20 December 2019, the International Criminal Court announced the opening of an investigation of war crimes in the Palestinian territories . The presence and ongoing expansion of existing settlements by Israel and the construction of outposts is frequently criticized as an obstacle to peace by

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3968-462: The two groups in 1993, the ratio is 115 people per square mile for Jewish settlers and over 9,000 people per square mile for Palestinians. Sara Roy estimates the increase in Palestinian population density in Gaza due to Israeli policies alone to be an increase of almost 2,000 people per square mile in 1993. All the settlements were surrounded by electric fences or barbed wire. While the settlements maintained an isolated economic system, they affected

4032-430: Was Kfar Etzion , in the southern West Bank, although that location was outside the Allon Plan. Many settlements began as Nahal settlements . They were established as military outposts and later expanded and populated with civilian inhabitants. According to a secret document dating to 1970, obtained by Haaretz , the settlement of Kiryat Arba was established by confiscating land by military order and falsely representing

4096-430: Was more supportive to settlement in other parts of the West Bank, by organizations like Gush Emunim and the Jewish Agency /World Zionist Organization, and intensified the settlement activities. In a government statement, Likud declared that the entire historic Land of Israel is the inalienable heritage of the Jewish people and that no part of the West Bank should be handed over to foreign rule. Ariel Sharon declared in

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